

WHEN DREAMS 
CAME TRUE 


BY 

J. B. LASLEY 


















































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WHEN DREAMS 
CAME TRUE 

By 

J. B. Lasley 


# 


JOHN P. MORTON & COMPANY 

INCORPORATED 

Louisville, Kentuckt 
1922 



Copyright, 1922 
By J. B. LASLEY 


MAY 1 1 


©C1A675149 


Dedicated To My Friend 


REX FULLER SMITH 

Who endured the tortures of hell for four long 
years, sacrificing the ties of home and 
country, to fight for a principle, 
under an alien flag 


When Dreams Came True 

i 

T HE train was slowly crawling up the moun- 
tain-side and we were enjoying a bedtime 
smoke before retiring to our berths. Every- 
thing had become quiet in the smoker as we sat 
there listening to the puffing of the engine as it 
slowly climbed the grade; suddenly one of the 
occupants, a mere boy, arose and after throwing 
his cigar away bade us goodnight. 

After he left us one of my companions remarked : 
“Did you notice that boy’s face? He is a 
youngster but that face is as old as the Pyramids, 
and those lines were carved by trouble. His story 
would be interesting, no doubt.” 

I had noticed the boy that afternoon when he 
first came into the Pullman. He had attracted my 
attention by the old and worn expression that would 
come over his face at times, causing him to have 
the appearance of a much older man. Lines were 
there that the masseur could not erase, and I felt 
sure that only the deepest suffering and the 


1 


When Breams Came True 


greatest trials could be responsible for the story 
that was indelibly engraved upon his countenance. 

For a moment we sat in silence wondering what 
the story of this young-old boy could be, when 
George Grew, a Kentucky horseman, who had been 
smoking silently, withdrew his cigar and leaned 
toward us. 

George eyed us intently for a moment and 
remarked : 

“You are right about the boy, he has suffered 
as few men ever suffer and live. His story sounds 
more like some fairy tale than truth. I have known 
him since infancy and have followed his career care- 
fully, and will tell you his story if you care to 
hear it.” 

By this time we were all listening intently, and 
George began: 

“The boy’s name is Jack Logan and he was 
born in a small country village down in the Black 
Patch of Kentucky. He grew up in the open and 
was a jolly, carefree little shaver. His dad was his 
pal, and hour after hour they would romp and 
play together over the hills and through woodlands. 

“Jack was full of romance from his infancy. 
Every tree was the home of some woodland nymph, 


2 


When Dreams Came True 


fairies danced in the grassy dells and the great god 
Pan was the ruler of his enchanted domain. 

“Later he lived in the woods with Robin Hood 
and fair maid Marian, killing the king’s deer, and 
going on wonderful expeditions with jolly Friar 
Tuck. 

“He fought for the freedom of Scotland with 
Bruce, he rescued Napoleon from Elba and placed 
him again upon the throne of France; again with 
Lee and Jackson he marched through the valleys of 
Virginia; always he was fighting for a lost cause 
and living in a wonderful land of make believe. 

“When he was fourteen years old his dad was 
brought home one afternoon on a cot. Ed Logan 
was a contractor and had been on a job for one of 
the big coal companies near his home. That after- 
noon he had been struck by a falling timber and 
hurled to the ground fifty feet below. He lived only 
a few hours, and Jack’s first trouble came in the loss 
of his pal and playmate, and it was days before the 
boy recovered from the shock and was himself 
again. 

“He was in school until he was eighteen and 
progressed rapidly in his studies, for he had a 
quick, bright mind, but he was different from the 
other boys in his classes. He did not care for the 


3 


When Dreams Came True 


social gatherings that were enjoyed by other boys 
his age, and was never known to have a boyhood 
sweetheart. 

“If he could slip quietly away into the woods 
where he could wander about and dream he was 
happy. His thoughts were his own and he seldom 
confided to anyone, but he has told me since that he 
always had a girl. She was the girl of his imagina- 
tion, and he called her his Dream Girl. She was as 
real to him as she would have been had she actually 
been there, for constant thought and worship had 
woven her into his heart and brain, and always he 
was true to her. 

“When Jack was nineteen years old he went to 
Detroit to work for one of the big motor companies. 
He had been there only a few weeks when he 
received a telegram calling him to his mother’s 
bedside. He started for home at once but did not 
arrive in time to see her alive. They put her away 
in the little country cemetery by the side of her 
husband, and after the friends had departed Jack 
went down on his knees between the two little 
mounds that held all that was near and dear to him 
and gave way to his pent-up emotions. 

‘ 1 He soon went back to Detroit and devoted him- 
self to his work, but nothing could drive away his 
loneliness.” 


4 


When Dreams Came True 


II 

“One morning in August, 1914, like a flash of 
lightning from a clear sky, the news came over the 
wires that Europe was at war. Little Belgium had 
been invaded, homes were being destroyed and 
families separated, horrible atrocities were com- 
mitted, and the suffering was intense, and soon 
Europe was in the terrible strife. 

“One morning Jack started to his work, but he 
never arrived at the plant. He did just what you 
might have expected a lonely and romantic boy to 
do ; he was ferried across the river into Canada and 
had soon enlisted in the Canadian army. At last 
his opportunity had arrived to put into practice the 
things he had lived for for years; and as he stood 
there in the uniform of a Canadian private he 
ceased to be an American citizen and became 
instead a cavalier, going forth to battle, and die if 
necessary, in the cause of freedom and right. 

“There was a hurried call from across the sea 
to send every available man as soon as steamships 
could bring them. The call was imperative, the 
situation was desperate. England and France 
could not hold out much longer against the steadily 
marching cohorts that seemed to be made of steel. 


5 


When Dreams Came True 


Swiftly they were being pushed back and unless 
fresh troops soon arrived and strengthened the line 
the cause would soon be lost. 

“Four days after he had enlisted Jack was 
steaming out of Halifax with twenty thousand other 
troops, the first division of Canadian troops to cross 
the sea. Little did they dream then that only four 
hundred and forty of them would ever return. 

“The voyage was as exciting as were many 
others later. They steamed slow at times and then 
it would be full speed ahead. There was an air of 
mystery that was felt at all times. German subs 
were sighted and fired on. The nude bodies of a 
man and woman were picked up and buried at sea, 
and finally they were met bj^ a convoy of destroyers 
and carried safely through the war zone into port. 

“They were hurried on trains and carried to 
Purfleet Rifle Range, where they remained three 
days, and then across the Channel to Bolougne, 
where they sat in the streets until big motor lorries 
came for them. After getting in the lorries they 
were carried to another camp. Here they were 
allowed to write letters back home and were told to 
make their wills. After doing this they were loaded 
in cattle cars and started for the front. 

“They had expected to get their preliminary 


6 


When Breams Came True 


training in France, but the line was breaking. The 
troops at the front were worn beyond the point of 
endurance. There was no time to wait and no time 
for training, and seven days after they had landed 
in England they marched into the front line trenches 
and relieved the tired and worn out British soldiers. 

“Raw troops they were, that had no right at 
that time to be called soldiers. They were without 
training and many of them did not know how to 
carry a gun. All of them were ignorant of warfare, 
but all were in search of the great adventure. 

“They had been recruited from every walk of 
life — clerks with the pallor of the city still upon 
them, lumbermen from the great north woods, trap- 
pers and hunters, grim visaged men who had mushed 
the trail far up in the Arctic Circle, where the flam- 
ing aurora borealis flashed across the sky, and the 
howl of the malamute was the only sound to break 
the stillness of the night, fair lads from sunny Dixie 
with the same high ideals of love and chivalry in 
their breasts that had made their land famous in 
ante-bellum days. 

“The first night they were in the trenches a 
German raiding party came over and captured one 
of their majors and three men. These men were 
tortured and mutilated and left nailed to doors and 


7 


When Dreams Came True 


trees where they were found by their companions 
the following morning. 

‘ ‘ This was done to cause terror in the hearts of 
the raw troops, but these boys were not frightened 
as the enemy had supposed they would be, for every 
living man in that outfit went down upon his knees 
in the presence of Almighty God and their dead 
comrades and took a blood oath that he would not 
take a prisoner alive. 

“You can only imagine what such warfare 
means. Every man in the outfit had suddenly 
become a bloodthirsty veteran with a lust to kill, 
and when they did receive their baptism of fire they 
stood and took it like veterans should. Not only 
did they stand, but the line held when they had 
almost been annihilated. The world heard and 
marveled that raw troops could do what they were 
doing. History was made in that sector that will 
last as long as time will. 

Ill 

“Then the Hun released his poison gas and it 
took its toll by the thousands. The Canadians 
suffered the tortures of hell time and again. 

“Jack was w r ounded when he had been on the 


8 


When Breams Came True 


front about ten days, and when he left the English 
hospital at Southampton he was transferred to the 
Scotch Highlanders and became a ‘ Jock, ’ or as they 
were called by the Germans, ‘Ladies of Hell.’ 
Time and again he made his kill and took his vic- 
tim’s ear as the Canadians were wont to do. 

“One night he and his ‘Buddy,’ A1 Douglass, a 
lad from Moose Jaw, Canada, crossed behind the 
German lines and put a battery of howitzers out of 
commission, sending their sleeping gun crews 
‘west.’ This battery was located at the foot of 
Hill 70, and was commanded by the Fifth Land- 
stromers. 

“Again he saved his regiment when it had been 
bottled in the St. Pol sector, and for his daring 
service he had been decorated by four different 
countries. 

“But the effect of gas, shell shock and the 
terrible strain was telling on him. Companions of 
to-day were missing to-morrow. Strong men would 
lose control of themselves and break down with 
nerves shattered and bodies trembling, and the lines 
were beginning to show in his face. 

“He saw a fifteen-year old boy swim the Yser 
Canal, and with his revolver blow up the bridge 
and himself to stop the German advance. The wires 


9 


When Dreams Came True 


had failed to work and set off the mine and the 
Germans were even then beginning to cross the 
bridge. 

“He saw two young Canadian officers, mere 
boys, volunteer to stay and blow up Hill 60 at 
Yimy Ridge. The hillside had been mined with 
eight hundred and forty tons of high, explosives, 
and the enemy was entrenched over the mine. It 
was necessary that someone be sacrificed to make 
sure the mine would be exploded at the right time. 
These boys knew that it meant death, but they went 
into the mine with a smile on their faces, and Jack 
helped to seal the entrance before he left, but for 
days he could see these boys as he last saw them in 
the tunnel, as they sat there playing cards by the 
flickering light of a candle, waiting for the end. 

‘ 1 Their company commander was named Robin- 
son, and was loved and respected by all of his men. 
At the beginning of the war he had married an 
English girl, and when their son was born he 
obtained leave and went to her. He had just 
returned from England and joined his company at 
Crow’s Nest when an offensive was begun. He was 
told that it would not be necessary for him to go 
into battle that morning, but he refused to send his 
men where he did not go himself. 


10 


When Dreams Came True 


‘ ‘ When they went over that morning he was the 
first man killed. He fell into a shell hole, and 
when Jack and A1 found him an Australian soldier 
was robbing his body. He had already taken his 
personal effects and was cutting his finger off to get 
his ring. Both boys fired at once and the soldier 
crumpled into the bottom of the hole. They took 
the personal belongings of their beloved commander 
and carefully put them away and some time later 
Jack delivered them to his widow in England. 


IV 

“The ‘Zero’ hour had been set for three-thirty 
a. m., and they had finished writing their letters 
home, for well they knew that many of them would 
never return from that advance. A cold rain was 
falling that chilled them to the bone and they 
shivered as they gathered in little groups around 
the tiny braziers in the dugouts. 

“Jack had a premonition that something was 
going to happen to him. He told his companions 
that he knew he would get ‘his’ next morning when 
he went over the top. He felt it so strongly that he 
sold his top coat for twenty francs, and paid the 


11 


When Dreams Came True 


little debts he owed. The boys only laughed at him 
and joked him about being without his coat when 
he faced the cold rain the following morning, but 
try as hard as he could, the feeling would not be 
suppressed; some sixth sense told him that he was 
due to ‘Go west’ that morning. 

‘ ‘ He lay there in the mud and cold until at last 
exhaustion overcame him and he slept, then the 
big guns commenced to shell the German lines. 
The explosions from the big shells awoke him and 
he sat there cold and shivering until an order was 
shouted in the mouth of the dugout. He and A1 
crawled out into the trench and stood there in the 
mud and water, waiting for the barrage to be 
lifted and the order that would soon come. 

“Then the barrage lifted until the shells were 
dropping behind the German line. Every man 
stiffened nervously, faces were drawn and pale; 
when you looked into a man’s face you could see 
his soul, here you read a man’s thoughts, and lives 
were open books, they were veterans of many 
battles, and had faced not only the grim realities of 
life but of death. Many times they had gone over 
the top, but always the suspense was terrible, that 
sickening sensation in the pit of the stomach could 
be felt just before the start. Now the ‘ Sarg ’ sends 


12 


When Dreams Came Trite 


the word down the line, ‘Over the top and the best 
o’ luck,’ and they crawled out of the trench and 
began to run forward in the face of machine 
gun fire. 

“Jack had not advanced fifty feet when he was 
hit. A1 saw him as he fell and stopped long enough 
to administer first aid before he went on. It was 
thirty-six hours before he was found by stretcher 
bearers and carried back. 

“There seemed to be very little chance to save 
the poor mangled boy. He had suffered from ex- 
posure and the loss of blood, and septic poisoning 
had set up. At last he was carried to Eastbourn 
and placed in the hospital with thousands of 
others. 

“For days he tossed on his cot, and in his 
delirium he would be in the little Kentucky village 
with dad and mother again. He would roam the 
fields and woodlands that he had explored years 
before, and by his side would be that sweet-faced 
girl who had been his sweetheart and companion in 
his land of make believe, and in a weak and pitiful 
way he would call to her and beg her to come and 
place her hand upon his fevered brow, and when 
the nurse would gently stroke his forehead he would 
close his eyes and smile, and call her his Dream 
Girl. 


When Breams Came True 


“And again his brain would clear and he would 
realize that he was desperately wounded and 
struggling for life, and then the sordid horror of 
w r ar would possess him, the aches and pain, the 
killing and bloodshed, suffering and remorse, and 
the muddy filth of the trenches. Why should he try 
to recover to go back to this? There was no one 
to await his return. Then a great loneliness would 
steal over him and he would resolve to give up the 
struggle and seek the peace and rest he was sure 
he would find in death. 

“The doctors and nurses knew that he was mak- 
ing no effort to live, and realized that the end would 
soon come unless some way could be found to make 
him fight for life. 


Y 

“Marcus Allen was a typical American business 
man. His business interests had grown by leaps 
and bounds when Europe went to war, and it be- 
came necessary for him to close his home in the 
little mid- western city in which he lived and move 
to New York in order to be in closer touch with his 
various business interests, and with him went 
Louise, his only child. Louise was nineteen, and as 


14 


When Dreams Came True 


pretty as a hot-house flower. Her mother had 
died when she was small, and Marcus Allen had 
been both father and mother to her. 

For several months Allen had been in England 
looking after some war contracts in which he was 
interested, and had carried Louise with him. She 
had been visiting some friends at Eastbourn, and 
that morning had brought cigarettes and chocolates 
to distribute among the wounded soldiers. 

“As she came to Jack’s cot she paused, and an 
elderly nurse told her his story ; how he had given 
up his country to fight for a principle under an 
alien flag, and now he was making the supreme 
sacrifice because he had no further interest in life, 
no home, no friends or loved ones to mourn his loss. 

‘ ‘ The story touched the girl’s heart, and her eyes 
filled, she leaned over his cot and gently kissed his 
forehead, and two big tears dropped silently upon 
his pale and wasted face. 

“Jack suddenly opened his eyes and as he gazed 
into the tear-stained face of the girl above him, a 
look of wonder and amazement came over his face. 
He had believed that he was rational, but surely 
that could not be, for standing over him was the 
girl he had called so often, the girl that had 
wandered by his side in the Kentucky woodlands, 


15 


When Dreams Came True 


who had been with him in the dugouts and trenches 
of Flanders, his make believe sweetheart, his 
Dream Girl. 

“He reached out wonderingly and touched her 
hand. It was real and she was alive, a living, 
breathing being. 

“Suddenly he burst into tears and sobbed like 
a little child. The girl knelt down and gathered 
the wasted form into her arms. She petted and 
soothed him while he buried his face in her bosom 
and poured out his lonely soul. At last he was able 
to control his emotions and lay back on his pillow. 
He wanted to talk to her and tell her everything, but 
the doctor and nurse would not allow him to talk 
until he had slept, and Louise sat by his cot and held 
his hand until he was sleeping quietly with a smile 
upon his lips. 

“When Jack awoke from a long refreshing sleep 
it was with a determination to get well, for now that 
he had found his dream Girl, there was something 
to look forward to. Life and happiness were 
before him. 

“Louise came to see him every day and he im- 
proved rapidly. When he was able to sit up she 
would wheel his chair out under the trees and read 
to him. 


16 


When Dreams Came True 


“Jack told her of his boyhood dreams, and how 
he had loved her always, how much she meant to 
him. How she had always been an ideal, but now 
that she was a reality, she was his hope of future 
happiness that made life worth looking forward to. 

“She responded to his mood, for she could not 
keep from loving this blue-eyed boy who worshiped 
her with his whole being. She realized how he 
loved her and appreciated her love, because it was 
something that he had been without until he had 
found her, and she sought to make up for the 
emptiness and loneliness he had experienced, and in 
a very short while she loved him as dearly as he 
did her. 

“Then the time came for him to report. He 
was well at last and must go and take his place 
again in the trenches. Now he hated war and 
wanted it to end so that he could stay with Louise. 
And when they parted she clung to him and sobbed, 
tenderly his lips sought hers, and as she raised her 
tear-filled eyes to his there was a look of tender 
love and fidelity that he carried back with him to 
the muddy fields of Flanders. 

“Each week he wrote to her, and the letters he 
received were filled with words of love and comfort. 


17 


When Dreams Came True 


They made it easier for him to perform his duties, 
and he took better care of himself. He did not 
expose himself recklessly as he had done in the past, 
for he was looking forward to the end of the war, 
when he could go back home to his Dream Girl and 
happiness. 

‘'One morning Louise found Jack’s name in the 
list reported killed. Although this had been an 
error on someone’s part, she took it for granted that 
it was true. Her father went to the War Office and 
verified the report, for they had given out the 
names just as they had been received from the 
front. Her grief was so great that Air. Allen 
arranged to carry her back to New York on the first 
steamer to sail, and a week later they steamed out 
of Liverpool for home. 

“When her letters stopped coming Jack could 
not understand the reason. He waited in vain, and 
brooded over it until he was almost wild at times. 
At first he thought she was sick and was sure she 
would write in a short time, but still no letter came. 
The suspense was terrible, and then he got to think- 
ing of the victims he had seen in London after an 
air raid and he was sure that she was dead. 


18 


When Dreams Came True 


VI 

“One morning Jack had just received his rum 
ration. A heavy mist hung over the earth, so thick 
that he could see only a few feet in front of him. 
Off to the front on a little hillside was a nest of 
German machine guns. Three unsuccessful at- 
tempts had been made to take this position, but 
each time they had been driven back with heavy 
loss, and now they were waiting for artillery to be 
brought up and dislodge them. 

“As Jack stood there a sudden determination 
came over him to climb out of the trench and run 
toward the German line. The machine gunners 
would soon see him and his troubles would be over. 
Had he not lost his Dream Girl almost as soon as 
he had found her ? Now he wanted to be with her. 

“He picked up his rifle and a bag of hand 
grenades and crawled out of the trench. He was 
away with a good start before he was missed ; there 
was shouting behind him, but he ran on determined 
to get it over with as soon as possible. The machine 
guns would soon cut loose, but he would go on as 
far as possible, and he might be able to get a 
1 Fritz ’ or two before they got him. He would do his 


19 


When Dreams Came True 


best, for this would be his last attempt, and then 
before he could realize where he was he was on top 
of one of the machine guns. The gunner was 
chained to the tripod. Jack saw an expression of 
amazement and unbelief come over the gunner's 
face as he ran his bayonet through his throat. Even 
in death the expression remained fixed as though 
he could not believe his eyes. 

“With a quick twist he removed his bayonet 
and sprang forward to meet the reserve gunner and 
ammunition bearers. Twice he fired his rifle and 
the two men in advance fell. He did not have time 
to fire a third shot, but clubbed his rifle and met 
the next man. He heard the bone crush as the butt 
of the gun descended on the German’s head. His 
knife was in his hand as he met his last opponent 
and in a moment it was over. Five ‘Heinies’ had 
gone ‘west’ and he was still fighting. 

“He crawled from one gun to the next, using his 
grenades, and sometimes finishing the job with his 
knife. 

“His comrades could not understand his wild 
rush, but as they heard his rifle, and the explosion 
of grenades, they begged their officers to allow them 
to go to his assistance. In a few moments the order 
was given. Over the top they went with a Highland 


20 


When Dreams Came True 


yell and pipes playing. Suddenly the mist was 
lifted, and the line of Scotch troops could be seen 
as they charged. The sun sparkled and glistened on 
their bayonets as they ran forward, and as Jack 
stood on the hillside and watched the magnificent 
splendor of the brave lads, there came to him the 
following lines: 

“ ‘There’s a toss of the sparran, 

A swing of the kilt, 

And a screech frae the pipes 
In blood stirring lilt; 

They step out together, 

As the pibroch notes swell, 

Oh, they’re bonnie brae fighters, 

The Ladies of Hell. 

‘ ‘ ‘ They are far frae the heather, 

And far frae the moor, 

As the rocks of their hillsides 
Their faces are dour. 

Oh, ‘The Campbells are coming’ 

Frae carry and fell, 

What a thrill to their slogan, 

These Ladies of Hell. 


21 


When Breams Came True 


“ ‘As they charged at Culloden, 

Like fire o’er the brae, 

Their brothers are charging 
In Flanders to-day, 

And one lesson in manners, 

The Bosch has learned well, 

To make way for the ladies, 

The Ladies of Hell/ 

“There was firing from all sides, but the guns 
in front of them were silent, and when they reached 
the hill they found that everything had been cleared 
for them. Jack was safe but five machine guns 
were out of commission, and their crews had ‘ Gone 
West/ He had completed the job thoroughly. 

“Some weeks later when General Petain had 
pinned the Croix de Guerre upon his breast, and 
had saluted him upon both cheeks according to the 
French custom, in the presence of a number of 
staff officers, a bitter smile crossed Jack’s face. He 
was thinking of the irony of fate. All of the honors 
that were coveted by a soldier had been bestowed 
upon him, and yet he did not value all of these one- 
half as much as he did the smile of a sweet-faced 
girl he had won and lost. 

“August of that year was the beginning of the 


22 


When Dreams Came True 


end. The German line was broken, and the Allies 
started their great drive; then in November the 
Armistice was signed. 

‘'Jack was stationed at Rouen for some time as 
a royal messenger, and carried dispatches to various 
European countries until he was sent back to 
London almost a year later. Here he learned that 
Louise was alive, and that she and her father had 
returned to New York, believing that he had been 
killed. 

“His joy almost overcame him when he found 
that she was alive, and he could hardly wait to get 
home and get his discharge, but finally he sailed for 
Halifax. After landing he was sent to Montreal, 
where he was discharged in November, 1919. 

“He left at once ; going to New York he went to 
the hotel where Louise and her father had lived, 
but learned that they had not been there for 
eighteen months, and could not learn where they 
had gone. He searched all of the hotels and apart- 
ment houses in the city, but could learn nothing of 
them. They were not listed in any of the city or 
telephone directories, and after searching for 
months without finding a trace of them he gave up, 
heartsick and discouraged and came back to 
Kentucky. 


23 


When Dreams Came True 


VII 

“My stable was at Churchill Downs, and I had 
entered Bourbon Bell in the Kentucky Derby. 

“I was standing in front of the Seelbach when 
Jack came up and spoke to me. I had not seen him 
for four and a half years, and I hardly knew him. 
His face was lined and haggard because of the 
troubles and horrors he had experienced. 

“I carried him to my room where he told me 
his story. After he had finished he said, ‘George, 
I have been searching for Louise for six months 
now, and sometimes I am tempted to believe that it 
was only a dream, that I only saw her in my 
delirium, and then I remember the light of love 
that I saw in her eyes when I left her at Eastbourn, 
and then I know that I shall never rest until I have 
found her again. I have dreamed of a home, for 
her, and happiness, and if I knew that I would not 
find her I would regret that I did not find a rest- 
ing place beneath the poppy fields of Flanders;’ 
and there was a sad far-away look in his eyes. 

“I did my best to cheer him, and tried to get 
him interested in the Derby, which was to be the 
great event of the morrow. 


24 


When Dreams Came True 


“While we were talking there was a knock on 
the door, and Ed White with several eastern horse- 
men came into the room. They were looking for 
some excitement and one of them had suggested 
that they come to my room and start a poker game. 
I knew that the stakes would be high, and after I 
had introduced Jack to them, I explained that he 
was an old friend whom I had not seen for years; 
pleading this excuse to keep him out of the game, 
I placed my room at their disposal, and we arose 
to depart. 

“Billie Morley, a young Pittsburger with more 
money than brains, insisted that Jack roll high dice 
with him for one hundred dollars. There was a 
sneering inference in his tone and I was about to 
remonstrate, when Jack accepted his challenge as 
though he had been invited to pitch pennies. A 
pair of cubes was produced and each of them 
accepted one. Billie rolled and Jack topped him. 
It had been a breathless moment for me, for I knew 
that Jack had very little money. Billie insisted on 
rolling again, and again Jack won. For thirty 
minutes they kept it up and Jack continued to win, 
and at the expiration of that time Billie was broke 
and Jack had won three thousand dollars. 

“I was up early the next morning and started 


25 


When Breams Came True 


out to the track. It was a beautiful spring morning, 
and even at that early hour the streets were crowded 
with the great throng that had gathered there for 
the great race. The hotels and rooming houses were 
overflowing, and some of the visitors had slept in 
their automobiles as they were parked along the 
main thorofares of the city. The railroad yards 
were crowded with private cars from all parts 
of the United States and Canada. People from 
southern Indiana and the Bluegrass were arriving 
in motors by the hundreds to see the great turf 
classic run that afternoon. 

“The aristocracy of the turf would be repre- 
sented there that day, not only on the track, but in 
the stands. Horsemen had been breeding and train- 
ing for years to produce a horse that would be a 
Derby contender. Each of the twelve entries that 
would start that afternoon could be traced back 
through a long line of blue blooded ancestors, and 
each would show the perfection of the trainer’s 
art. The greatest racing stables of America were 
represented. 

“Fifty thousand wild and enthusiastic specta- 
tors were crowded in the stands and around the 
track, and just before the start I went into the 
betting shed to look for Jack. I had advised him 


26 


When Dreams Came True 


to place a bet on my entry, Bourbon Belle, because 
I felt almost sure that she would win. 

“I found him as he was worming his way out 
of the shed, and when I asked him if he had placed 
his bet, he gave me a peculiar smile and said, ‘ I shot 
the whole roll, George,’ and I must confess that it 
made me a bit uneasy. 

“We crowded down against the rail where we 
could get a good view of the start and finish, and 
in a moment they were off. 

“Twelve of the most magnificent specimens of 
horse flesh in the whole world, and as they flashed 
by us we could see the long sinewy muscles as they 
slipped and glided beneath the shining coats. 

“Every inch of that track was contested that 
day. The gamest bunch of horses that ever com- 
peted in a Derby race fought for supremacy. 
Almost all of the way they ran in a bunch. I could 
see my colors as Bourbon Belle would forge ahead 
or slip back, and after ages, it seemed to me, they 
were down in the stretch, where the last gallant 
struggle would be made. 

“They were running in a bunch not two 
hundred feet from the wire, and it was anybody’s 
race; when suddenly a beautiful bay mare, that 
seemed to have been sired by lightning, sprang out 


27 


When Breams Came True 


to the front. She was the swiftest thing I had ever 
seen on the track, and I have been following the 
game for more than twenty years. With every 
jump she widened the distance, and as she came 
under the wire she was a good length ahead. 

“Another great race had been run, and in the 
twinkling of an eye an unknown horse had become 
famous, for the winner was a rank outsider, and no 
one had believed that she had a chance to win. 

“Hearts of owners, trainers, jockeys and stable 
boys were hurt and aching, for fame and fortune 
had just been snatched from their grasp. I know, 
for I experienced that feeling ; and then I thought 
of Jack, and my heart almost stopped beating, for 
it was on my advice that he had placed all of his 
money on Bourbon Belle, and by doing so he had 
been robbed of his opportunity to take up his search 
for Louise again. 

“The great crowd, dumbfounded for a moment, 
had come to its feet and was madly cheering as the 
great floral wreath was placed about the neck of 
the Derby winner. 

“I turned to face Jack with a feeling of dread, 
and tried to swallow the lump that came up in my 
throat. 

“ ‘ It sure is rotten luck, boy, ’ and then I almost 
choked. 


28 


When Breams Came True 


‘ ‘ But he did not look at me when I turned. He 
was standing there rigid, gazing at some one up in 
the stand, with an expression of rapture on his face 
and a joyful look in his eyes. Suddenly he threw 
a package to me and darted away through the 
crowd, but as he left my side I heard him mutter 
‘ Louise. ’ 

“I stood and watched him until he disappeared, 
and then examined the package he had tossed to me 
wben he left ; you could have knocked me over with 
a feather, I was stunned and surprised, for there 
was three thousand dollars’ worth of tickets on 
‘Dream Girl,’ the Derby winner, that would be 
worth almost seventy thousand dollars when they 
were cashed. 

“When he and Louise came to me at the hotel 
that evening and I handed him a certified check for 
his winnings, he thanked me and told me how he 
had gone down in the betting shed to place a small 
bet on my horse, and when he looked up at the 
board the first horse listed was ‘Dream Girl.’ His 
thoughts had gone back to boyhood, and then to 
Louise; when suddenly the impulse came to play 
the horse whose name meant so much to him, and 
he played all he had. Then he had looked up in the 


29 


When Dreams Came True 


stand and had seen Louise, and in his happiness and 
excitement he had forgotten all about his tickets. 

“He continued, ‘George, I have won something 
that is worth far more to me than my winnings on 
the Derby. I have found my girl and have won 
happiness,’ and there was a happy look upon 
his face.” 

Grew threw the end of his cigar away as he 
arose and continued : 

“To-morrow he will meet Louise in Washington, 
where they will be married and start on their 
honeymoon.” 


VIII 

I was one of the first passengers to get off the 
car next morning when the train pulled into Wash- 
ington. After taking my bag from the porter, I 
walked through the shed into the station. Stand- 
ing near the gate was a girl, the most beautiful and 
radiant creature that I had ever seen; she was 
slender and of medium height, beautifully formed, 
and every movement and line of her body was one 
of poise and grace. Her hair was dark, and the 
face was set off by the little plaid turban she was 


30 


When Breams Came True 


wearing. Her eyes seemed studded with diamonds, 
and as she stood there with her ruby lips slightly 
parted in an attitude of expectation, something 
seemed to hold me and I could not move on. As I 
stood there watching her she gave a glad little cry 
and sprang forward to meet one of my fellow 
passengers. It was Jack Logan, and the lines of 
trouble and care had vanished from his face. The 
light of love was in his eyes as he tenderly folded 
this beautiful girl in his arms, and I knew that at 
last his dreams had come true. 


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